Results:

Newport Bay Marina (now Vue Newport)

Client: ETCO Investments, LLC

Description:

Bayfront mixed use project with 27 residential units, 36,000 sf retail and a reconfigured marina on a former shipyard site

Entitlement Objectives:

Approval by the City of Newport Beach and the Coastal Commission of a site plan, tentative tract map, marina demolition and reconstruction, bulkhead replacement along 485 feet of waterfront, certification of an EIR and approval/issuance of a Coastal Development Permit.

Issues/Challenges:

1. Potential for historical restrictions due to the age of the shipyard and the requirement for a HABS report2. Complications of marina and bulkhead reconstruction3. Implementation of mixed use with subterranean parking4. Proximity to existing restaurants

Entitlement Schedule:

Home Ranch

Costa Mesa, CA

Client: C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, Home Ranch

Project Site:

Home Ranch, 93 acres bounded by the 405 fwy to the south, Harbor Blvd. to the west, Fairview Rd. to the east and South Coast Dr.to the north. The last parcel that remained undeveloped in Costa Mesa, CA

Project Description:

Strategy:

Develop an approach that would determine the key issues for both the community and City, identify consensus issues and develop messages that could be used on an ongoing basis by the project team with the community and media. The first step was to undertake a community ascertainment. The findings of this community ascertainment, which included interviews with key public officials, city management and planning staff, homeowner groups and business leaders, provided the foundation of the community outreach program and the entitlement strategy. Upon completion of the ascertainment, Government Solutions outline the key issues the community was concerned with and identified key areas of opposition to the Home Ranch project.

Solution:

With the key issues and opposition identified Government Solutions outlined a strategy to communicate to the community, City and media how the project addressed their concerns and to highlight the benefits of Home Ranch. A combination of community meetings, one-on-one meetings with community and City leaders, ongoing communication with the media and targeted community mailings were instrumental in communicating the project's benefits to the City. These benefits included a $2 million endowment to the high schools (education being the number one concern in the City); $8.46 million in traffic improvements paid immediately (as opposed to over the build-out period - responding to the community's desire for immediate solutions to existing and future traffic impacts); $1.7 million annually in increased sales tax revenue to the City; modifying the project to include all owner-occupied single family homes and townhomes consistent with existing zoning (as opposed to high density apartments); preserving the Segerstrom Family Home, Barn and other elements in perpetuity and an endowment for its future maintenance, operation and public access; and campus-style corporate headquarters (as opposed to the current zoning which called for warehouse/manufacturing).

Results:

Costa Mesa City Council approved this project. IKEA is open, the families have moved into the neighborhood,the Emulex campus is up and running and more office space is on the way.